Cons
Limited compatibility with systems. Too many restrictions with the Hybrid version. Features are limited to web browsing only. Needs a file sharing component with Windows. Way too expensive for a limited utility.

Bottom Line

Phoenix Hyperspace sounds great on paper, but web browsing alone and the promise of better battery life aren't enough to temporarily leave Windows, plus it's too expensive for an incomplete utility.

In bunches, laptops are now advertising secondary operating systems that boot up in a matter of seconds. You might've seen one, and if so, there's a good chance that it is a Linux environmentone that works in tandem with a version of Windows Vista or XP. These pre-boot environments are simplistic and quickly accessible, while advocating low power consumption and enormous battery benefits. Until now, these Linux environments have been custom tailored to a specific laptop and weren't available as separate install files. Phoenix has found a way around it, launching downloadable versions of its pre-boot shell called Hyperspace Dual and Hybrid. The environment is intuitive, and boot up and shut down times are lightning fast. The limitations surpass its benefits, though, as not all systems are compatible and the prices are too expensive for a utility. Hopefully that will change with time.

Phoenix was gracious enough to send me two test laptops, one preloaded with Hyperspace Dual and the other with Hybrid. The concept is simple: Since most users are primarily using their laptops for web surfing, why go through the trouble of booting into Windows? A minute of your life is wasted, and it eats up the laptop's battery life. Hyperspace resides as a layer underneath Windows and boots up in a matter of seconds. Once you're in, there's a left pane made up of settings and customizable icons, the latter of which are entirely made up of shortcuts to popular internet sites such as Gmail, YouTube, meebo, Amazon, and Flickrto name a few. The network settings are at the top of the pane, which you'll need to access the internet. There are three options here: Wired, Wi-Fi, and WWAN (if a 3G card is detected). Both the wired and Wi-Fi settings worked flawlessly with PC Magazine's networks.

Hyperspace is fast and easy to grasp, and its functionalities are limited as a result. For instance (at least for now), physical drives in Windows aren't accessible; reading and writing data files with a Linux application like OpenOffice are not supported; and music and videos residing on the hard drive are off limits. Phoenix is working on other features at the moment, so it's limiting Hyperspace to just web navigation.

Based on system requirements, there are two versions of Hyperspace. Hybrid has the most potential, because it utilizes the virtualization technologies of Intel and AMD processors. Users can instantly toggle back and forth between operating systems, with battery savings of up to 25 percent if you're in Hyperspace, according to Phoenix. While using Hyperspace, you can put Windows in Sleep or Hibernate modes, or shut it down completely. There is a catch, however. Installing Hybrid requires that your laptop uses Intel's or AMD's Virtualization technology, and from my findings, not many laptops do. GRC has a free downloadable application that detects if your laptop has virtualization, and you can also check your BIOS for this setting. For laptops that don't support virtualization, Hyperspace Dual is your only option, which involves shutting down the inactive operating system.

With the downloadable version, it will take some investigating and a little patience to get it to work. For the time being, there is a 21-day trial version available on the HyperSpace Web site, but only a handful are listed as compatible systems. Why? For one, there are restrictions, especially with the Hybrid version. As stated, virtualization support is its biggest obstacle. It also doesn't work with a 64-bit operating system, so that eliminated half of the test systems from my bench. Windows Vista is required, as well as 2GB of memory and up. If any of these requirements aren't met, the system is limited to Hyperspace Dual. With Windows XP, installing Service Pack 3 is the only painstaking obstacle.

The install process was straight forward. You will need an internet connection, though, in order to proceed. The utility does a hardware self-assessment test to see which version of Hyperspace is compatible. It then partitions your hard drive and installs the pre-boot shell into the partitioned space. The entire process took about 30 minutes. Once done, it boots directly into the environment. Most laptops should be compatible with Hyperspace Dual, though I couldn't get netbooks like the HP Mini 2140 and the Samsung NC10-14GB to work with either version. Other systems like the Lenovo ThinkPad SL400, the Samsung P560-54G, and the HP HDX18t worked fine. However, I couldn't find a single laptop that worked with the Hybrid environment, and I had at least 30 test laptops at my disposal.

Hyperspace is still in its infancy and recently partnered with laptop makers like Asus and Lenovo to improve the feature set and user experience. The downloadable version might sound great on paper, but web browsing alone and the promise of better battery life aren't enough to temporarily leave Windows. It's also too expensive for an incomplete utility: An annual license for Hybrid costs $60 (or $149.95 for three years), while Dual is cheaper, costing $40 (or $100 for a three year license). Hyperspace Hybrid is the most promising out of the two, that is, if you can find a compatible system.

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